Investigating magistrate Judge Tariq Al-Bitar returned to his job a year and two months after he was expelled from the Beirut port bombing case on the basis of high-profile court decisions that came as a surprise in terms of form and timing. recusal of an examining magistrate is the cancellation of a precinct established by ministerial order, so that the examining magistrate does not need permission to prosecute defendants, since he is basically authorized to perform this task.
Perhaps the most notable development in the decision to return to the judicial investigator was his willingness to sue a group of political, law enforcement and judicial figures for interrogation as defendants.
The defendants were reported to have included Director General of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim and Director General of State Security Major General Tony Saliba, and notices were sent to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Cassation so that it was reported that the defendants would be asked to conduct an investigation next week.
In this context, judicial sources said that Judge Bitar’s first step was to prosecute the eight individuals responsible for the explosion in the port of Beirut, including the Director General of Public Security and the Director General of State Security, as well as those who had previously requested permission to prosecute them. . but did not receive it, there are 3 judges who have already called on the prosecutor’s office to prosecute them.
According to court sources, Bitar will soon file a lawsuit against the senior judge due to his failure to fulfill his duties in removing nitrates from the port of Beirut, which led to its destruction.
The sources also indicated that Judge Al-Bitar has now been relieved of more than 20 requests heaped upon him by the defendants in the bombing case, who refused to appear before him, knowing that he resorted to jurisprudence when he sensed the existence of a serious decision on the appointment of a reserve judge, who changes the course of the investigation in favor of those who impede his mission.
